ChEMS Research Forum Coming To MSU: The Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science at Michigan State University will hold its annual ChEMS Research Forum on Tuesday, May 24. The Forum will be held at the University Club on the campus of Michigan State University. The 8th Annual ChEMS Research Forum will showcase Departmental research advances in the areas of energy and sustainability; nanotechnology and materials; and biotechnology and medicine. The one-day program will feature plenary speakers, posters and oral presentations describing the latest Department research results. Registration, lunch, and refreshments are complementary. Confirmed plenary speakers include Brandi Osborne, Senior Scientist at Pfizer Inc., Elizabeth A. Holm, Computational Materials Science and Engineering, Sandia National Laboratories, and Brian S. Nuno, Senior Strategist, DTE Energy. More at www.chems.msu.edu/forum2011

World Trade Center Detroit/Windsor, Team Hypernet Host Search Engine Success Seminar: The World Trade Center Detroit/Windsor Association will host a search engine optimization Internet marketing seminar for business owners, Web site administrators, and marketing managers conducted by Team Hypernet at the WTCDW offices, 1200 Sixth St. in Detroit, at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 8. This informative session provides strategies to help attendees attain search engine success in the global marketplace. Team Hypernet defines search engine success as when anyone searching for your goods or services finds your Web site on the first page in relevant categories when they use the top search engines of Google, Bing, or Yahoo/ Attaining long term search engine success is not magic. The process begins by developing a focused and flexible search engine optimization InternetmMarketing strategy and continues by diligently working this plan and adjusting to new developments. The seminar is free to WTCDW members and $15.00 for non-members. Visit http://wtcdw.com/registration0608.cfm or call (313) 962-2345 to reserve your spot.

Econ Club To Hear From NY Times CEO: The President and CEO of the New York Times Co., Janet Robinson, will speak to the Detroit Economic Club on Wednesday, May 11. The speech is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. The speech will cover the challenges facing media companies and the journalism profession beyond Web sites offering aggregated news content for free. Everything about how information is gathered and shared and how, when and where it is consumed has changed. With that change being the new constant, Robinson will discuss the hard choices and new strategies required to manage a trusted brand and legacy in a world that is transforming as dramatically as it is rapidly. More at www.econclub.org.

Electrochemical Society To Hear From Sandia Labs On Advanced Batteries: the Detroit section of the Electrochemical Society will meet Wednesday, May 25 to hear a presentation on “Materials for Abuse Tolerant Lithium-ion Cells” from Christopher J. Orendorff of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. As lithium-ion battery technologies mature, the size and energy of these systems continues to increase (> 50 kWh for EVs); making safety and reliability of these high energy systems increasingly important. While most materials advances for lithium-ion chemistries are directed toward improving cell performance (capacity, energy, cycle life, etc.), there are a variety of materials improvements that can be made to improve lithium-ion battery safety. Issues including energetic thermal runaway, electrolyte decomposition and flammability, anode SEI stability, and cell-level abuse tolerance continue to be critical safety concerns. This presentation highlights our work to develop advanced materials to improve lithium-ion battery safety and abuse tolerance and to perform cell-level characterization of new materials. Orendorff has worked in the area of materials chemistry for the past decade and now directs the Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory at Sandia National Laboratories. Orendorff joined Sandia in 2006 and is now responsible for the battery testing and R&D work performed in the labfor the Department of Energy’s U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium and Advanced Battery Research (ABR) programs. Orendorff earned his PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Arizona in 2003. The event will take place in Room 406 of the Taubman Welcome Center at Lawrence Technological University, 21000 W. 10 Mile Road, Southfield. Networking begins at 5:30, with dinner at 6:30 adn the program at 7:30. The price is $20 for members, $22 for guests and $10 for students, payable by cash or check. RSVP by Wednesday, May 18 to Kimber Stamm at kimber.stamm@tema.toyota.com. More at www.electrochem.org/ecs/sections/detr/detr.htm.

ITC Holdings to Present at Deutsche Bank Energy Conference: Executives with the Novi -based power grid developers ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC) are scheduled to address members of the investment community at the upcoming Deutsche Bank Alternative Energy, Utilities & Power Conference Thursday, May 12 in New York City. The presentation is to begin at 2:50 p.m. Eastern time and last until 3:20. Investors can access the live audio webcast and a copy of Thursday’s presentation material at http://investor.itc-holdings.com/events.cfm. The largest independent electricity transmission company in the country, ITC currently operates high-voltage transmission systems and assets in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, serving a combined peak load in excess of 25,000 megawatts through its regulated operating subsidiaries, ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains. ITC also focuses on further expansion in areas where significant transmission system improvements are needed through ITC Grid Development and its subsidiaries. More at www.itc-holdings.com.